A few nights ago while thumbing through my Facebook feed, I saw that my friend Megan Krome had shared someone’s post. I clicked—and what I read shocked me. Megan’s mom, Elaine Muirhead Hagebush, had died. The impact of her death didn’t really hit me until the next morning. Elaine, you Read more…
It couldn’t be more ironic if we had been reading lines from a script. Today’s early morning drive along Route 7 was pleasant enough, as I wound my way from Morgantown, W.Va., to Kingwood. It even included a serene interlude with an old friend at a Reedsville café. From there Read more…
Sometimes they’re angry and sometimes they’re sad. Many times they simply want to ask if I’m happy now. Or say they hope I am. These are my readers, and they are men. They are the men who read my memoir, Sister of Silence. Not a few of them were once Read more…
Thirty-four years ago this year I marched down a grassy ball field in Masontown, West Virginia, pinkie finger intertwined with that of Mike Sheets, my fellow classmate. We marched to “Pomp and Circumstance,” the same tune thousands of other graduates will march to this month and even next, as American Read more…
One of the best rewards for writing—since it’s rarely the money—are the letters and emails I receive, like the following. Each one always contains some nugget of wisdom, and this one—from a Southern belle of just 76—contains many. It reminds us that for most women, life today is much better Read more…
That just about says it all. But it certainly doesn’t tell the backstory. I think I’ve been speaking in public since I was about ten. Rarely do I get nervous. My TED talk was different. Maybe that’s because you know the status given to TED talks. Okay, so this wasn’t Read more…
It isn’t going to be easy and every day will be a struggle. Maybe not a physical fight to survive but certainly a psychological one. Some days you will do battle just to be happy. From time to time you will even look back and think dying would have been easier. Read more…
Ohio isn’t the only place full of stunned people today. The world joins them after learning that three missing girls—each gone for about 10 years—were found alive in a Cleveland neighborhood Monday. Before I outline why we’re so happy and simultaneously repelled, let me just say this to the three girls Read more…
I want to let you know I’ve heard you, loud and clear. Today I responded to your comments about Sister of Silence, by way of uploading the revised version of my e-book. Which you can get free, in just one more day. Tomorrow night, at 12 a.m. Friday, Nov. 23—just Read more…
Actually, Sister of Silence sat in the #3 free spot on Kindle for most of the second day—right next to E.L. James’ third book in the best-selling trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed, before climbing one more notch to #2, where it sat beside Fifty Shades Darker. Which is why I’m asking: Read more…